1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system that receives a document print order from the user via a job ticket, and more particularly, to a novel printing system that, where finishing is performed using an on-line printer and an off-line finishing device, sorting and other operations regarding the finishing specifics is automated so that the workload of the operator is reduced.
2. Description of Related Art
Job tickets (work instructions) are used as one method of communicating the finish, delivery, etc. of a printed product when the user orders printing of a document from a print shop and the like. In this type of printing system, the user uses a client computer to create a job ticket that includes the requested finish, the delivery method, etc., and transmits the job ticket to the print server of a print shop together with the print data for the original document in order to order printing of the document. In doing so, the user can receive the printed product, which is finished in the requested fashion, on the requested date and at the requested place.
Such a printing system may include an on-line printer, which is connected to the print server via a network, and an off-line finishing device, which is not connected to the print server, and the finishing process regarding the printed product may be performed using both the on-line printer and the off-line finishing device. Because the job ticket sent from the user includes finishing specifics that are to be carried out using the on-line printer and those that are to be carried out using the off-line finishing device, and because there are no distinctions between the two types of instructions, the operator must take into consideration the specifications of the printer and the finishing device as well as the optional functions, etc. installed thereon, separate the finishing specifics included in the job ticket into those to be performed using the on-line printer and those to be performed using the off-line finishing device, and accordingly set the printer and finishing device to perform the finishing. In addition, currently, the operator manually issues a job completion notification to the user when printing is completed. However, these tasks of separating the finishing specifics, etc. are quite complicated, and the development of a printing system that is capable of automatically performing such tasks and reducing the workload of the operator has been desired.